A United States immigration attorney, Jonelle Ocloo, has provided insight into what it actually means for the US government to assure non-interference or prevent the repatriation of former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, and former MASLOC CEO Sedina Tamakloe.
According to the lawyer, while speaking on JoyNews on January 14, 2026, the assurance given by the US government applies only to the executive arm and does not take away the power of American courts to make independent decisions.
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“So, to be clear, when the United States government says that… without prejudice to judicial processes, they will not interfere… when we say the United States government, we’re speaking of the United States executive,” she explained.
She listed the executive agencies involved as “the United States Department of State, Department of Justice, [and] Department of Homeland Security.”
However, she stressed that the US operates under a strict separation of powers, meaning judges are not bound by assurances from the executive.
“Whereas the executive may say that, okay, we are not going to interfere with Ghana’s request to have Mr Ofori-Atta removed back to Ghana, Mr Ofori-Atta still has access to the courts in the United States. So, it is possible that the judge who hears his case could decide to have him remain in the United States,” she stated.
Ocloo also explained that extradition and deportation are two separate legal processes that can run at the same time.
“The extradition request is to return to Ghana to face charges in Ghana, that is one process. Separately, is the possibility of a deportation process, which many people don’t realise has nothing to do with a criminal.
“Someone being deported from the US is a civil charge. It’s simply because either they’ve overstayed their visa, or in this case, his visa has been canceled,” she stated.
The lawyer further indicated that cooperation between Ghana and the US is likely, particularly on deportation, describing it as a simple process.
However, she emphasised that extradition is more complex.
“I do think that to some extent, yes, there’s cooperation between the two governments… in many ways, the process of deportation is more of a simple process, meaning if he doesn’t have a visa, which now the US government has revoked, and if he does not have another ground by which to be in the US, then he can be deported.
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“Whereas when it comes to the extradition process, he actually has to go before the US federal court for the judge here in America to decide if Ghana can extradite him back to the country,” she concluded.
MAG/AE
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